So it was either add this chapter at 3:30 am tomorrow morning while half asleep about to GO IN to work for the day, or now, sweet, innocent 9 pm at night (here in my woods). So enjoy this earlier than anticipated (even if it you didn't actually know about all this posting business of mine as it's all in my head).

Operation: Thunderlips, the name in which Ron had bestowed his plans to make Hermione fall in love with him (much to the chagrin of Harry, who would have preferred the operation have no name, least of all one involving lips of any kind), was not off to a very successful start. To begin with, he was having a rather hard time actually finding the girl.

While normally he could have simply looked to the left of him during any lecture and find her busily scribbling away furiously in that adorable way of hers he lately found her on sitting across the room from him. Often after having arrived just before lessons were to begin, so he couldn't even pitch woo beforehand.

Then of course there was this essay, which he wasn't even sure which class if was for, that seemed to be taking up all of her time. It would have also been taking up his time too if anyone else in the entire school knew what the damned essay was about. Apparently everyone else in Hogwarts also relied on Hermione to be the one paying attention in class.

But, even worse than all of that was, despite having a catchy name for the project, Ron didn't actually have a plan for what he was going to say or do when he finally told Hermione how he felt. Really all he had thought about was the amazingly epic kiss that was to follow his confession and, though he would deny it tooth and nail to any male in Hogwarts and claim instead to only want in her knickers, the thrill of being in a relationship with her. Holding hands, cuddling, feeding each other in the great hall, long walks, talking about feelings...really anything boys of his age were supposed to find obnoxious he wanted to experience with her.

The truth of the matter was, however, Ron simply had no idea how to accomplish this with any girl, let alone one he fancied as much as Hermione. He just wasn't very good with women, a fact he had reluctantly confessed to Harry who, subsequently, laughed at his "revelation" and responded, "Well I could have told you that, mate," in a way rather unfitting of a supposed best friend. Even if he was one of the few witnesses to his attempt to compliment Lavender Brown that ended in him comparing her to a gnome.

It was because of Harry's light mocking that Ron decided that winging it was the way to go. It would prove his git of a best friend wrong and get him the girl! Perfect! All he had to do was find her.

Luckily for him, he just so happened to be in the right place in the right time and found Hermione blissfully distracted by a book outside of the Gryffindor common room. With the grace of a slightly inebriated koala he sidled up to her, only knocking down a second year in the process.
"Hermione!" He greeted, at a volume slightly louder than he wanted that managed to start her quite severely.
"Ron!" She said, in a equally loud voice. There was a pause as he tried to determine what to say.
"...H-Hermione!"
"...Ron."

It went like that for ages before Ron had the sudden realization that he was an enormous git, and that winging it was possibly the stupidest thing he could have possibly done. Now he was in some sort of neverending vortex where the only thing either of them could think to say was the other's name.

Thankfully, in a case where the word "Thankfully" has never appeared before, Snape arrived to witness the debacle. His penchant for torturing Gryffindors, and particularly those known to be friends with one Harry Potter, actually came to Ron's advantage as he immidiately spotted the two and zoned in for the kill.

"Weasley, Granger! What are you two doing?" He asked.

"Ummmm..." Ron could not answer. He wasn't quite sure what they were doing other than being inept at language together.

"Whatever it is it's clearly disrupting others," He sneered.

"What? Ron asked, unable to control himself, "What are you talking about we're just talking!"

"Could you have possibly chosen a better location Mr. Weasley?"

Ron looked around. For the first time he noticed exactly where this "conversation", for lack of a better word, was taking place. Right smack dab in the middle of the entrance to their common room. On one side there was a pile up of students of various years, all not wanting to interrupt the larger students, namely Ron, prohibiting entrance. On the other side, there was every student Ronald Weasley had ever known, it appeared. Sheamus was beside himself with laughter and, though others were more kind and discreet, so were the rest of the sixth years Ron would later have to threaten, he was sure.

"Err..."

"Brilliant," Snape sighed, "Detention, Weasley."

"What? For standing in a doorway?"

"No, for apparently jinxing Granger here the other day. I don't know what form of jelly legs you used on her but it was quite clear something had happened to her and and I have reason to believe it was you."

Ron turned to Hermione only to find she had already disappeared into the common room, and likely up to her bedroom. He was torn between concern for what had happened to her earlier and anger over the unfair accusation.

"It wasn't me!"

"I've lost interest in this, please leave now." Snape waved him off and began shouting at the first and second years for backing up the hallway.

After a long, hard moment in which Ron could only stand in wonder (thankfully inside the common room now that Ginny had the decency to at least move him in) he finally spoke.

"W-what happened?" He asked no one in particular.

"Well, you got detention." Harry explained.

"No, not that."

"You're a git?" Ginny offered, a usual explanation she would give to her older brothers for any of their behaviors.

"No!" He yelled, exasperated, "What just happened?" He asked again, but was met with additional shrugs of confusion from Harry and Ginny.

But neither of them could answer. There was only one person who could answer Ron's question. Himself. What had happened? He had made a complete arse of himself in front of Hermione. She hadn't fallen in love with him, in fact if anything he was pretty sure he made her hate him slightly. There was no winging things. He would have to do things right. He would have to plan, and prepare. And there was only one person he knew that could possibly help him with something of this magnitude. Besides Hermione herself, of course.

"Ginny, I have to tell you something..."

As I haven't done this all story, I would like to thank everyone who's favorites, alerted, reviewed, and of course read right now. It is much appreciated.

So then, Questions? Comments? Review!